Thus drew the artist

Kiratarjuneeyam 

Karna

Shiva Lingam

 

Krishna, the cow  herder  

Vasishta 

Eye 

 

Ravana 

Jatayu Vadha

Krishna the envoy

The little God

Shantanu and Dasaraja

Anjaniputra Hanuman

Hanuman 

Ganesha

Parashurama, the Robin Hood of India

Siddhartha Gautama 

Me as Krishna

Nehru, the scholar

Nehru, the scholar 

With many Anti-Nehru arguments around, it is better to avoid speaking about his political face than not to. So, now I through light over another aspect of his personality, that which produced the politician in him, the 'Scholar'.

Ideology and politics

As the Prime Minister of India for seventeen long years, he led it through periods of hardships but many argue, he led it 'to' periods of hardships. His tenure is marked with the erection of four pillars - 

'Socialism', for which he is both acknowledged and criticized; democracy; unity; secularism. This were more of his personal beliefs than the collective identity of the party. This were a result of his scholarly study of history and politics. The industrialisation of India was manifest due to the Planning Commission and its Five Year Plans. These were adopted from 'Pyatiletka' of USSR.

Writer 

He was a proponent of Literature in general and Indian Literature in specific. He's penned a few books including: Glimpses of World History, Discovery of India, Letters from a father to a daughter, An Autobiography : Towards Freedom. 

Glimpses of World History : It could be one of the best works by an Indian in the genre. Between 1932 and 1934, Jawaharlal Nehru wrote letters to his daughter, Indira Priyadarshini explaining events as they happened in the history of the world. He speaks of ancient civilisations and how medieval empires produced the world till the mid 1930's. Almost half the book describes how the modern world was created focusing on the revolutions out of which arose democratic principles and ideals. He was a devotee of democracy, not being a devotee of a god (He was agnostic). Almost one-third of the book explains the period between 1850 and 1930 with multiple chapters devoted wholly to Marxism and Communism. His orientation towards the Soviet Union seems to be justified by the chapters explaining the policies of Lenin. As an Asian Nationalist resisting European winds of power, he elucidates the rise of nationalism in Egypt and the Middle East against the background of European Nationalism. 

Discovery of India : This book was authored in 1944 as he sat behind the bars of Ahmadnagar Prison. He analysed the conditions during the dusk of British Raj and then projected what he believed to be the future of India from those instances and then he went back in time and traced India's footsteps that finally manifested the Raj. As an analyst less than three years later, he stepped in as India's First PM. 

In 'An Autobiography', he illuminated the Freedom Struggle of India as it unfolded. In his letters to his daughter he explained history, science and natural history evidently in the shoes of a scientist. 

Something more........

EM Forester once as a symbol of his wit, decided to write a letter to a world leader as Voltaire would if he would came back with life. His most important parameters were a valued education and the alignment towards political principles and understanding. Forester could find Nehru unrivaled in these parameters. As a respected socialist and an alumnus of Cambridge he received the letter.

Something more? ? ? Comment below!!

Rivalries in history

-----Rivalries in history-----

Cities, States, Kingdoms, and Superpowers have always competed with one another for dominance and power. 

From the origins to 1 AD

* I have not included India in this list, for I have already given an account in one of my older posts

Early dynastic Mesopotamia (2800-2200 BCE) : The city-states of Sumer : Ur, Uruk, Lagash, and Kish became warring states

Early dynastic Egypt (3000-2700 BCE) : Upper Egypt (Nile Valley) and Lower Egypt (Nile Delta) fought wars, with one king wearing the blue crown and the other, white crown. 

  Minoa Vs Myceane (2500-1420 BCE) : Two civilisations sprouted south of Greece in the Mediterranean and Myceane displaced the Minoan civilisation of Crete.

Egypt Vs Hyksos (1700-1500 BCE) : From the North, the Hyksos attacked Egypt and brought a period called the 'Second Intermediate Period'.

Egypt Vs Hittites (1600-1000 BCE) : From the North-East frontiers of Egypt, the Hittites attacked from Hatti and disrupted the rule of the Egyptian Pharoahs.

Assyria Vs Babylon  (900-700 BCE) : Assyria and Babylonia, both in Mesopotamia fought wars against one another.

Assyria Vs Media (620-600 BCE) : The bitter hatred between the Medians of Iran and Assyrians of Northern Mesopotamia brought them into conflict until Cyaxares of Media went into alliance with Babylon and other powers. Assyria finally fell and Babylonian Chaldeans took their place.

Neo-Babylonians (Chaldeans) Vs Media (625-550 BCE) : For a short period, Babylonia was the most powerful empire and Media was also ruled by powerful kings.

Media Vs Persia (590-550 BCE) : Cyrus the Great, Grandson of Astyages of Media defeated his grandfather in a siege and hence built the largest Empire ever seen till then.

Persia Vs Greek States (500-330 BCE) : During Emperor Darius's reign, the Persians tried invading Greece.  A result was the Battle of Marathon. Later, during Xerxes' reign, the Persians attacked Greece again and the Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis resulted in Persian defeat. During the time of Alexander the Great, he swore to destroy the Persian Empire and at Gaugamela, finally Darius III was defeated.


Athens Vs Sparta (430-404 BCE) : After the Battles with Persia, due to cultural differences the Classical Athenians and the War-like Spartans went to constant aggression and this conflict caused the Peloponnesian Wars finally causing the decline of the Golden Age of Athens.

Warring states of China (480-221 BCE) : After the fall of the Zhou dynasty in China, the Warring States period began with seven states consistently fighting for dominance. This ended when Qin Shi Huangdi conquered and unified China.

Romans Vs Carthaginians (264-146 BCE) : Romans rose in prominence and power. They were checked by the Carthaginians in Northern Africa and Western Asia. There was bitter rivalry for a century. Hannibal rose to prominence as a military leader during these conflicts known as the Punic Wars.

Romans Vs Macedonians (214-148 BCE) : With Rome rising, the Greek Antigonid rulers of Macedon fought wars against Rome by forming alliances with the Carthaginians and the Seleucids. The Macedonian wars happened simultaneously with the Seleucid and Carthaginian Wars.

Romans Vs Seleucids (192-188 BCE) : From Asia Minor to Persia, after the death of Alexander, the Seleucid Empire rose with Parthia to its east and North and the Roman territory in the West. Romans and Seleucids came to a direct combat in which they built alliances until finally Asia Minor fell to Rome.

Parthians Vs Seleucids (239-129 BCE) : From the East, there was a strong rivalry with the Parthians to the Seleucids,  The Seleucid Empire came to be held by the Parthians. This was majorly due to their being pushed away by competition in India.

Plebians Vs Patricians (509-27 BCE) : During the Roman Republic, two Consuls were elected, one from the Common sections of the society called Plebians, and the other- the aristocracy called the Patricians. This rivalry finally exploded with Marius and Sulla, the Plebian and Patrician representatives.

Romans Vs the Barbarians (throughout Roman History) : Though the Romans could dominate the Mediterranean, they could not control Northern and Eastern Europe an area raided by countless groups of unrelated people loosely called Barbarians. This conflict intensified during Caesar's Gallic Wars.

Events kept gaining importance from this period. So rivals increased in number and the atrocities due to rivalries were also very high. 

To know more:  
http://imywishmylife.blogspot.in/2015/11/places-with-hindu-mythological-etymology.html